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Mindfulness vs. Useful Thoughts
I'd like to know how some of you reconcile the practice of mindfulness with the practical need for thoughts. Clearly mindfulness is central to Buddhist practice, but conscious thoughts are necessary in everyday life. As an academic, conscious thoughts are at the core of how I make my living.
I presume that few of you on here are monks or lead monk-like lives. So, how do you do it?
As context, I should add that I'm a secular meditator, not a Buddhist, although the practices I use are from Buddhist sources (originally Chan mindfulness techniques, more recently supplemented with Metta Bhavna following Triratna descriptions of the practice).
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You don't need to worry about losing your mind or something
Thich Nhat Hanh was part of the Paris Peace Delegation during the Vietnam war. That took a lot of practical thinking.
The thoughts that are not useful to me (I'm so ugly nobody will ever want to be with me, that guy is a real jerk and I'm never going to speak to him again, etc) - those are the thoughts that being mindful helps us with. They don't do us any good, and the more we dwell on them, the more harmful they become to us and to others.
Meanwhile, the mindful mind directs their thoughts. They are in the drivers seat in the middle lane of the freeway. Calm, collected, and are free to get off at the next exit at any time they wish.
Mindfulness means 'recollection' or 'to remember'. It means to keep the Dhamma in the mind.
In formal meditation, the goal of mindfulness is bring the mind into a state of bare awareness. Mindfulness is not bare awareness itself but that which maintains the mind in a state of bare awareness.
Out of formal meditation, when we must think, speak or act, mindfulness is also required to keep our thoughts, speech & actions in line with the Dhamma.
Kind regards
A lot of the teachings don't apply to the everyday life, however meditation and mindfulness does.. and all it is going with the flow of reality.. and we all learn that being an idiot doesn't help lol, so use the intelligent/useful thoughts!
She prefers the term awareness though all terms are only pointing to what is meant in the dharma. You have to find the experience in your own practice and then you know what sutras are referents to.
I think of mindfulness as 'coming back'. There is a point where you realize that you are thinking about something. For example I might be meditating and I start thinking about my video game character. Until I realize I am thinking I am wholy in the world of video game revery and contemplation.
At first we think 'oh darn I'll come back to the breath' 'Oh good now I am back'. That is not mindfulness because now you are caught up in thinking you are meditating. Object focus is not mindfulness. The breath is used to develope calm or shamata.
But that point when I realize that I am thinking of the video game. That is awareness which is meant by mindfulness. It is the ability to step out of one world that you are lost in.
At that time a space opens up which can be accompanied by agitation or boredom. Anything can open up from that space which is why 'Oh darn I am not on the breath' is only one thing that can open up and heavyiness about that thought is itself a world to get lost in and the heaviness can interferes with mindfulness/awareness.
The space is shunyata.
There's definately a difference between experiencing shunyata and experiencing blank zombie-mind though, lol !
I refer to shunyata as the capacity to step into a new world. And recognize you are caught. Out of the rut. That none is solid and need be clung to.
Sogyal Rinpoche calls it spaciousness and in the context of compassion refers to it as 'being big about it' a common experience.
I think I experienced this when I had my clothes in the wash. And my brother (visiting) needed to wash his fast to get ready for his plane which was actually not for awhile. He wanted to take my clothes out and wash his quick. I am anal about wash and always conflict with my brother sometimes thinking of himself and not me. But I dropped all that after my knee jerk reaction and said 'ok no problem'. The point isn't that what I did was right or wrong or good communication. The point is I dropped all that past and strong pulls and said 'no problem'.
It sounds simple, just paying attention to what you're doing (which may include just sitting and thinking sometimes), but actually our minds like to entertain themselves. I remember a 'Simpsons' cartoon in which Marge demands if Homer is paying attention to her. He assures her he is, but in his thought bubble are dancing clowns. Our minds are a little like that - we should be paying attention but instead we've got a dancing clown show going on in our heads!
Mindfulness is applying yourself to your task with all effort. Sometimes the task involves conscious thinking. Sometimes it involves pealing potatoes.
I would recommend Thich Nhat Hahn's book on the subject.
'Peace in Every Step: The mindfulness of everyday life' is about extending mindfulness to our daily lives.
One doesn't just automatically 'pay attention' without remembering that's what one needs to do, and bringing the awareness back to the here and now.
Good observation, though I wonder if you're really talking here about Right Effort, which of course relies on mindfulness?
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also, i agree that it doesn't have to be either-or. in your example of walking to work, mindfulness allows you to notice your surroundings, etc. as well as notice both the content and general "vibe" of your thoughts.
a book called "mindfulness in plain english" by bhante henepola gunaratana describes mindfulness as the moment of pre-verbal awareness, before our minds start making judgements and categorizing. meditation then allows for the space to notice those moments before they slip away.
Most of what I've read says that when drinking water, I should just drink water, thus I'm not being mindful no matter what my intent or how useful the thought was.
Instead we are often completely lost in thought rather than aware. Does that make sense?
I guess an academic, as well as most would want to incorporate right concentration, so that he is not merely just watching his thoughts wander. Concentration is what makes them useful. Useful does not make them mindful.
E.g in the water bottle example from above, if I am "mindful" in this sense I won't follow the thought about design to a thought about what has driven that design (marketing, legislation, or production costs) and perhaps then to another thought about the factors that shape designs in general.
This suggests that there is still a decision to be made between "being mindful" and this kind of thinking.
Any kind of comment, good, bad, or even indifferent is the "inner commentator". Get familar with the inner commentator. Don't try to get rid of the inner commentator because that is the inner commentator trying to get rid of itself. Though at times our inner commentator is very wise sounding.
For example: I sometimes get into a thought and I wake up from it. At that instance my inner commentator goes, "Oh, I need to wake up more to thought, what am I doing wrong?" Well this seems wise, but in actually it isn't. You woke up from your thought spontaneously without any effort from your own. So instead of trying to find how to make that happen more. It is better to have a positive attitude after spontaneously waking up from a thought. You should cultivate thankfulness and a positive attitude, instead of trying to do more things or seem down on yourself. When you view your meditation and things in life in a positive manner, you are telling your body/mind that those are important to you. While this seems egotistical or weird, it actually helps.
Don't ever listen to your inner commentator. Though it can say nice things, it can also say negative things. It can cause you to doubt, etc. Your inner commentator is never valid.
So the purpose of mindfulness is to watch. Like you're watching a movie. Watch your feelings, thoughts, body, etc. One can anchor using the breathe, but you can also place mindfulness on other places that are intriguing. Say like an itch or a nice sensation on your hands. Just watch and if it goes away, then go back to the breath.
That is mindfulness meditation. There is nothing to do. It is a stating of being here in the moment and just watching things happen.
Eventually you will take this practice of mindfulness throughout your whole human experience.
There is nothing to gain, but the freedom to choose how to respond wisely in the situation of the moment.
The point is to let everything as it is. Just reflect it all. Let all good and bad stay. Never reject or accept. Just be.
Sorry if I sound like a broken record.
With love.
How do you think the buddha constructed the dharma if he was continuously taking the breath as object of his attention?
It also seems to work the other way. When I see myself engaged in an interesting, potentially useful thought, it's hard to follow it to complete fruition.. It also sort of fizzles.
Perhaps thats just my lack of experience and concentration though.